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Monday, January 30, 2012

Unfortunately I had to leave the LP before the official entries even got played. My internet connection was just too crappy to handle a livestream. I did keep the chat window open & it looked like people had fun though. Seemed to hang around the 35-40 viewer mark most of the time. I really owe Tom a big thanks for running the LP. I obviously couldn't do it in my current situation.

The songs are now available for FREE download, and you can vote for your favorite entries as well. Many of you will be asking friends and family to support you in the popular vote. That's great, but when you do, please ask them to listen to all the songs & vote for their favorites. You can vote for up to 5 different people, so they might as well listen to everyone.

Until the round 2 songs are posted I will only allow people to download the round 1 album as a whole. But even after that, PLEASE download the entire album vs downloading just a handful of songs while the contest is on going. BandCamp limits how many free downloads I can give away, and 1 album download counts the same as 1 song download.

With 34 entries turned in for round 1, that means there will be 10 elimintions for the first 3 rounds. That would leave 4 finalist for round 4. Good luck everyone.

You can find the album on BandCamp by clicking the image below:

(Album cover by Matt Schubbe)

- You can vote for your favorite songs with the poll in the right sidebar. -->

- Popular vote stays open until 11PM on Feb. 3rd.

- Judges & guest judges have until 11PM on Feb. 3rd to hand in their reviews.

- I will post the Reviews & Eliminations before 11PM on Feb. 4th.

- Feb. 5th 1AM (Sun) - Second Challenge is announced.

Videos:
If anyone wants to make a video for their song, I'll include it here:

There's An Earwig by Dr. Lindyke

Stained Glass by Dr. Lindyke

Nightmare by David LeDuc

Funny Guy by Robert Borden

Toilet Demons by Wait What (The Band)

Falling: A Nightmare In Three Acts by Common Lisp

Reviews & Links Of Interest For This Round:
(If anyone writes any reviews or song bios please send me the links & I'll link to them here.)

34 people managed to turn something in on time. The bad news is of course that 10 people did not turn something in on time. A few people pulled out of the contest, while others just missed the deadline. For those of you that missed the deadline, but have a song (or part of one) finished, get it turned in. Shadow entries are awesome, and everyone in the contest would love to hear your work. Anything else that's turned in will be added to the album, and played at the listening party.

The listening party will be hosted by Tom, and it starts at 8PM TONIGHT! Like always, we're going by my time, not yours. (counter has been updated for you) Tom will play the songs in the order they were submitted. I hope you decide to stop by, and bring friends. The show officially starts at 8PM, but Tom said he'll have a preshow that starts around 7:30PM (maybe earilier). All songs will be available for FREE listen & download shortly after the LP.

So many people pushed the deadline, and didn't turn in a draft early. If you wait until the last 15 minutes to turn something in, there's a good chance you'll end up missing the deadline. Files take longer to upload & send than you think, links may not work, power outages happen, computer crashes, bounced e-mails, etc..etc... I know sometimes waiting until the last second is unavoidable, but it should be avoided if possible. The deadline is as much a part of the challenge as the lyrical/musical prompt.

- We of course run things by my time...not yours. The link at the top of the blog may be helpful to you when it comes to deadlines throughout this contest.

- The bold part is just the title of the challenge/album. Everything after that is the actual challenge. "Night Terrors" will be the title of the album & should be included on any submitted album covers.

Submitting Entries:
- Entries must be received by the given deadline. Otherwise it'll be posted as a shadow. Received means that it has to appear in my e-mail inbox by the given deadline. I will be going by the time stamp on the e-mail in my inbox. PLEASE do not wait until the last hour to send me something. If there is a blackout in your area, your computer crashes, or your dog actually eats your thumb drive...I will not care. You are allowed to send in a draft of your song early just in case something horrible happens & you miss the deadline. Then you can add polish to your song & send in a better version closer to the deadline. 1 minute late is still late people.

- Title of the e-mail should be the title of the Challenge & your band's name.

- Include the song lyrics in the body of the e-mail. (If your song doesn't have lyrics...consider yourself eliminated. Instrumentals can be pretty, but SpinTunes does require lyrics.)

- Include information on anyone that needs credited if you collabed with someone.

- If you have a BandCamp account, you can just send me a link to your song on BandCamp if you include all the info I mentioned above. Make sure you have it set as a free download, and have it set so that I don't have to put in an e-mail to download it if you pick this option. THIS IS THE BEST FILE SHARING OPTION!

- Other file sharing options if you need them: YouSendIt, Sound Cloud, Drop Box, RapidShare, ZShare & MediaFire. Please send an e-mail as I already stated, but with the download link if you need one of these services. Please follow directions so your file doesn't wind up in my spam or trash folder accidentally.

Side Notes:
- Good luck everyone. I don't care who wins, but I hope you all have fun & maybe even learn a little something along the way.

- Remember that Dave & Tom have access to my e-mail now. If I'm not available, it's possible that one of them will respond to you.

- Remember that you are allowed to send in a little background about your song. Some people don't like to do that, and you don't have to, but if you want to write a couple sentences about your song I'll post it on the BandCamp page for people to see. Some judges will look at the lyrics & this extra info, but they aren't required to.

- If you didn't sign-up in time to compete in SpinTunes #4, you can still complete the challenge & send in a song. It'll be uploaded with the other entries as a "Shadow Song". Check the FAQ if you don't know what that means. You can even complete past challenges from previous contests.

Round 3 Challenge: Lucky Seven - Choose seven letters of the Roman alphabet. Now write a song using ONLY words that begin with those seven letters. No exceptions will be made for minor parts of speech or vamping at the beginning of the song or the end. When you turn in your song you must identify the seven letters you intended to use. (1:37 minute minimum) (they had 8 days) (Results)

Round 4 Challenge: The Bare Necessities - We're taking it easy on you this last round. Write a new original song. Any song you like. But record and produce it using NO instrumentation other than the parts of your own body. This is NOT an a capella challenge...there must be significant use of instrumentation other than your voice. The sounds should be "manmade" and not using other things against the body. (1:30 minute minimum) (they had 8 days) (Results)

(Profile order is based on who sent in their entry form first.)

Edric Haleen: Edric likes writing songs, even though they're often different than others may have been expecting at first listen. Care to know more? Check out the link below to visit his website. (Also, please consider checking out http://happinessboard.com/ to see -- and add to -- the Happiness Board! Guaranteed to put a smile on your face, or your money back!)

The Orion Sound: My name is Oliver Parsons, aka Emperor Robot Hitler Gandhi Jesus Walrii McPoshtwat . I'm well known for getting all da bitches. Like, ALLLL of them. As friends. I make songs about codes and the murdering of cats because no one likes cats (monkeys are much better) and my hair is pretty awesome. It’s all poofy in the middle. I kind of look like a homosexual hedgehog, with the face of a mouse. It’s wonderful. It’s like a hedgehog and a mouse made sweet love. Sweet, sweet love... (Written lovingly by Bethany L Martin)

Robert Borden: Robert Borden is a singer/songwriter from Guilford, CT who plays acoustic/ukulele pop music. In 2011 he was featured on the popular YouTube show, What the Buck?!, and released his sophomore album 'How To Move On Except Not Completely.’ With influences ranging from Max Bemis to Ingrid Michaelson to Mumford & Sons, Robert has accumulated and sustained a wide following on YouTube over the past few years.

Wait What (The Band): Made in Germany, What Wait is a machine washable, bleachable towel, chamois, and sponge all in one that washes, dries and polishes any surface. No, wait, that's a Sham Wow. Wait What is a band from Long Beach, Ca.

Ménage a Tune: Possessed of nothing more than cheerful determination, a love of learning and the ability to shamelessly beg for help, JoAnn has only been writing original songs for 2 years. She is still amazed at doing 30 in that time, and appreciates all the help she’s gotten from her fellow Song Fu friends in the past. She is usually one of the first eliminated, but has shadowed every round thus far, and if bumped plans on continuing the tradition just for the fun of it.

Ross Durand: Award winning songwriter Ross Durand hails from Southern California. Classically trained, he cut his songwriting teeth around campfires and the Orange County coffee house scene of the 1990s. Ross specializes in the solo acoustic idiom of the post-Dylan tradition. He has self released three CDs and is a staple of online songwriting contest including Spintunes, Nur Ein!, and Song Fight!, where he currently leads the all time submission list in the Song Fight! archive.

Hazen Nester: Hazen is a two-time veteran in FRED Entertainment’s "Masters of Song Fu" competition. Apart from an album he is developing (and is currently on hiatus), his current musical endeavor is as part of a band that adapts music from a certain misspelled-insect-named band to fit in with a certain pastel-colored equine television program. He resides in central Michigan, plays strange Scottish sports for fun, and is a cyborg.

Governing Dynamics: Travis "Governing Dynamics" Norris writes music and tries not to take himself too seriously while also trying not to take himself unseriously. He hopes that he will not have to rap in this edition of Spintunes, but will attempt to control his emotions better if that happens. Buckle up.

Jon Eric: Based in Austin, Texas, Jon Eric has been churning out his own off-kilter brand of bedroom folk an subjecting the Internet to it for nearly a decade. He currently lives with a dog, nine degus, and one human female, and enjoys writing about himself in the third person, because he thinks it makes him sound more professional.

Noah McLaughlin: French professor by trade, songwriter by passion, growly vocals and alt-country vibe by recent predilection. noah mclaughlin is a long-time (if somewhat erratic) contributor to Song Fight! and shadowed the last round of SpinTunes, enjoying himself immensely. He plans to roll up his sleeves and really dig in this time with his full arsenal of three second-hand guitars and array of free MIDI VSTis.

Dex01: Dex01 is a British, rock based, songwriter who has been writing music for almost two years, which qualifies him as a musician (it doesn’t). Inspired by Jonathan Coulton’s approach to writing and recording material, Dex decided to try and see if he could turn his hand at writing material instead of playing along and jumping up and down. The past two years have seen Dex record an EP turned demo album and acquire a professional mic which makes him some sort of big shot (it doesn’t).

Kevin Savino-Riker: Kevin is the guitarist for the Write Bloody House Party 2 Band, playing monthly at the Lightbulb Mouth Radio Hour variety show and podcast in Long Beach, CA. He is also an unsigned and unknown independent musician on YouTube. Kevin has served as drummer, bassist, guitarist, and lead vocalist in a number of bands over the last 15 years, though never all at the same time. Kevin is the champion of the first Spintunes contest, and he is still uncomfortable writing about himself in the 3rd person.

Gold Lion: Hi there, my name is Mariah. I'm a fifteen-year-old girl with a guitar, a pen, and a brain. I started writing under Gold Lion in April of 2011, and since then released an EP, which can be found here. Aside from being a part-time rockstar and a full-time hooligan, I attend high school in suburban Minnesota. Basically in short, if my life was a potato, it'd be a mighty fine potato. For this contest, I'll be collaborating with my sound guy/percussionist/good friend, Jackie Jansen (A.K.A DoomSKITTLE). If we lose, you can blame it on him. Or, y'know, there's also Heather.

Rebecca Angel: Rebecca Angel is a singer/songwriter of geeky themes, but throws in the appropriate amount of sappy love songs. She performs around the Capital District of New York with two bands, The Rebecca Angel Band and The Subs, and has five albums under her crocheted musical belt.

Jacob Haller: Jacob Haller is a Providence, RI-based musician whose songs (on such diverse topics as love, relationships, substance abuse, robots, and kittens) have been described as fresh, catchy, and quirky. He recently released his second CD, 'Circumstantial Evidence'.

Chris Cogott: I will try my best to write song(s) to the best of my limited abilities. I will also try real hard this time to not miss the song deadline(s). If anything should happen to go wrong, I will continue to do as I'm told and blame Heather even if I still don't know who she is.

Marlon Barnes: Marlon is the late bloomer of a mostly musical family with an affinity for improvising songs, giving instruments names that start with the letter J and planning ways to counteract the oncoming robot apocalypse. He is known most for being lovably awkward and tackling hard-hitting musical topics such as mass extinction, facial hair, and dick jokes.

"I'm probably in well over my head, but I'm excited to be here" - Marlon

David LeDuc: I'm originally a bassist and am breaking all the rules trying to play guitar and sing. I'm currently in the middle of a 100 day challenge to produce a video a day for 100 days. We'll see how that goes.

David Ritter: David Ritter is best well known for his song a week project where he wrote and recorded one song per week and released them on his website, www.MacMufasa.com, in 2010. He is an avid writer of geek music and so far is a cancer survivor after being diagnosed in 2011 (not dead yet suckahs!).

Rosalind: I've been into music my whole life, and written on and off, and even submitted to a few contests, but I've never actually tried to make something of it other than a local karaoke and church star. I'd like to see what I can do If I try.

Caleb Hines: Caleb is a software engineer by day who enjoys pretending to write music on the internet when he gets the chance. A Song Fu and SpinTunes veteran, he is self-trained in classical music theory, and has amassed a small plethora of instruments, though few that he can play well. That hasn't stopped him from trying, though.

The Boffo Yux Dudes: We're humorists. That means we go for the occasional highbrow joke among the necrophilia and genitalia comments. The Dudes managed to reawaken from their coma in 2009, creating music new music for the confused masses. Allan Morgan and Tom Giarrosso head this version of BYD with previous members in the wings, ready to pounce if they make some change out of it.

Jess Scherer: Hi I'm Jess. I'm a Taurus and I drive a Taurus, and I'm not proud of either of those things. I've been writing songs for about five years and have been in a couple of different bands. The band I'm in right now is called Stripes on Stripes, and I'll probably make my bandmate Peter play guitar for me on my tunes. As far as songwriting goes, catchy and original are what I strive my darndest to achieve. I have done a songwriting challenge before but never a contest, and I am mighty stoked.

Brian Gray: Once upon a time reptilian goliaths roamed the Earth, leaving chaos and destruction in their wake. The close of the Mesozoic era saw a sudden extinction of these terrible behemoths, making room for other types of moths. Sixty-five million years later, Brian Gray began making music.

Common Lisp: Paul R. Potts, aka Common Lisp, is a software engineer, blogger, podcaster, and videographer: a man of many talents, as long as those talents involve nervously squinting at a computer for hours on end. His musical skills are not limited to playing stringed instruments rather badly; he also sings rather badly. His five home-schooled children are driving him insane. He can often be found online, tweeting from the bathroom or posting pictures of his dinner on Facebook. He lives in Saginaw, Michigan.

Felix Frost: I'm a solo musician who makes colorful, schizophrenic music with unusual song structures, styles and subject matter. My music is mostly synthetic, featuring my own voice, and usually involves lyrics that tell some kind of fictitious story. I've released two albums on CDbaby.com under the name Felix Frost, and I'm finished with a third album that should be going up soon.

Jim Holmquist: Jim Holmquist is currently the leader, songwriter, and guitar player for fearless adventure-rock band, the Long Holidays. Whether Jim is with his band, or alone with an eight-sting ukulele and a Guinness, he always delivers a diverse set of story songs. He weaves his improv comedy, science chops, and tall tale telling into unforgettable tunes and party time performances.

Drei Viertel Drei: Who knows what to expect when the cultures that brought you Mozart, Burns, Freud, Fleming, Hitler, Haggis, Falco and Wet Wet Wet clash? The Austro-Scot duo of Mick Bordet (The Lunacy Board) and Katharina Maimer (Wiener Blut) aim to find out in their latest collaboration, "Drei Viertel Drei". We cannot guarantee the absence of yodelling or bagpipes.

Monday, January 2, 2012

The time has come for SpinTunes #4 to get underway. The rules are in place. New judges are in place & they will be working on the challenges soon. Now it's time to see who will be competing in SpinTunes #4.

I will need everyone who wants to participate to copy & paste the following text into their e-mail. Fill in the needed info, and then e-mail it to me at the address I provided below. Make sure you put "Spintown Contest" as the subject of the e-mail so I don't think it's spam. Also use an e-mail that I can reach you at if need be. Don't panic if you don't get a confirmation e-mail immediately after signing up. I'll message you back within 24 hours of getting your e-mail.

I _____________ give Travis Langworthy permission to upload any music I submit into his contest onto his blog (Spintown) & bandcamp. I realize it will become part of an album consisting of numerous other artists, and that it will be available for anyone to download for free. I also promise to give my very best effort in each round to complete the challenges. Providing NEW songs that have not been released before in any form. I also agree that anything that goes wrong during this competition is Heather's fault.

Name: (The name you or your group wants to be referred to during the competition.)

Bio: (Give a brief description of your group/music/history in 500 CHARACTERS or less. I know it's brief, but it's more than Twitter allows. :p Besides, links to your sites will be provided if people want to learn more about you.)

Twitter: (If you got one & want to share. *optional* If there's multiple accounts for multiple band members that's fine.)

YouTube: (If you got one & want to share. *optional*)

Band Website: (If it's different than either of the above. *optional*)

Pictures: (I need a band picture or logo. The image should be 100x100, and if it's not I'll do my best to make it so. Don't forget to actually attach the picture.)

Judges:
Here's a list of the people that will be making the challenges, reviewing your work & of course voting on the songs:

This schedule is a bit flexible, but it's my goal to stick to it. If there are any changes made to the schedule, I'll mention it in a blog post & on the @SpinTunes Twitter account.

This schedule is in Cincinnati time. Don't know the time in Cincinnati? Google is your friend....and I usually keep a timer counting down for the important deadlines. You can find a link to that timer right under the SpinTunes banner up above.

January 2nd (M) - Sign ups start.

January 17th 11:59PM (T) - Sign ups end.

January 18th 1AM (W) - Profiles get posted.

January 19th 1AM (R) - First challenge is announced.

January 29th 11:59PM (Sun) - First song deadline.

January 30th 8PM (M) - Listening party will be held HERE, and hosted by Tom.

January 31st (T) - Songs are made available for free download on BandCamp.

*During this gap:- judges will rank the songs- judges will review the songs*

February 3rd before 11PM (F) - Judges reviews are due.

February 4th before 11PM (Sat) - Reviews & Eliminations are posted.

February 5th 1AM (Sun) - Second challenge is announced.

February 12th 11:59PM (Sun) - Second deadline.

February 13th 8PM (M) - Listening party will be held HERE, and hosted by Tom.

Feburary 14th (T) - Songs are made available for free download on BandCamp.

*During this gap:- judges will rank the songs- judges will review the songs*

February 17th before 11PM (F) - Judges reviews are due.

February 18th before 11PM (Sat) - Reviews & Eliminations are posted.

February 19th 1AM (Sun) - Third challenge is announced.

February 26th 11:59PM (Sun) - Third deadline.

February 27th 8PM (M) - Listening party will be held HERE, and hosted by Tom.

February 28th (T) - Songs are made available for free download on BandCamp.

*During this gap:- judges will rank the songs- judges will review the songs*

March 2nd before 11PM (F) - Judges reviews are due.

March 3rd before 11PM (Sat) - Reviews & Eliminations are posted.

March 4th 1AM (Sun) - Final challenge is announced.

March 11th 11:59PM (Sun) - Final deadline.

March 12th 8PM (M) - Listening party will be held HERE, and hosted by Tom.

March 13th (T) - Songs are made available for free download on BandCamp.

*During this gap:- previously eliminated competitors will rank the songs- judges will rank the songs- judges will review the songs*

These rules are not up for discussion at the moment. That time has passed. If something is confusing, needs clarification, if you just think I made a mistake or forgot something (I am sort of rushing this post) feel free to mention your concern in the comments below. It will be addressed within 24 hours. (a draft of the schedule will be posted shortly)

Schedule:
It will have a similar schedule to SpinTunes #3. There will be 4 rounds. You will have 8-11 days to write, record & send in your song. There will be a short break between each round. During this time the song will be voted on, reviewed & prep for the next round will be made. For more info click: HERE.

Judges Voting:
There will be 5 judges who are not participating in the contest & who will not shadow rounds. Each round they will individually rate all the songs from favorite to least favorite. Then the judges scores will be posted & added up. Here's an example of what the judges scoring would look like:

Popular Vote:
Popular vote will still be a tie breaker, but it will also be a way for people to earn points toward their overall round score. In rounds 1 & 2 the popular vote will be scored like a judges ranking. In rounds 3 & 4 the popular vote only counts as a tie breaker.
If there is a tie in the popular vote in rounds 1 or 2, whoever turned their song in first will rank higher.

Eliminations:
Each round people will be eliminated from the competition. The number of eliminations each round will not be known until after the round 1 songs are turned in. I want the number of people eliminated in rounds 1-3 to be the same (or close to the same), and 4 people left for the final round. So if 25 people submit songs for round 1: 7 people would be eliminated in round 1, 2 & 3....leaving 4 people in the final round. More details to be posted when the round 1 deadline has passed.

This is not a head to head contest, each round the competitors with the lowest vote totals are eliminated. After the eliminations all the point totals goes back to 0. You don't get to keep points from previous rounds.

Ties are settled by a popular vote in the form of a poll I'll start for each round. If somehow that is a tie as well, the point totals from the previous round will decide the winner. If by some miracle everything is tied, the final deciding factor is me.

Final Round:
In the last round, everyone who has been eliminated (who also submitted at least 1 song) will be allowed to rank the songs. This round the judges have no say in matters, but they will still be required to review each song. Rules for a tie are altered just a bit. Popular vote is the first deciding factor, then the judges, and then I am the last deciding factor.

Challenges:
The challenges will be similar to the old Song Fu & "Non Optional" Nur Ein challenges. If you go through the old challenges you'll see that they could be anything. You could be given a theme, restrictions, a technical challenge and hopefully you're forced to do things you've never done before. The challenges will be created by myself & the other judges before the contest even starts.

Submitting Entries:
- Entries must be received by the given deadline. Otherwise it'll be posted as a shadow. Received means that it has to appear in my e-mail inbox by the given deadline. I will be going by the time stamp on the e-mail in my inbox. PLEASE do not wait until the last hour to send me something. If there is a blackout in your area, your computer crashes, or your dog actually eats your thumb drive...I will not care. You are allowed to send in a draft of your song early just in case something horrible happens & you miss the deadline. Then you can add polish to your song & send in a better version closer to the deadline. 1 minute late is still late people.

- Send your file in a format that Bandcamp accepts. (.aiff, .wav or .flac) (at least 16-bit/44.1kHz) You can find the specific requirements for Bandcamp files HERE. You do not have to send in MP3's.
- Name your file the song's title, but without spaces & punctuation.
- Title of the e-mail should be the title of the Challenge & your band's name.
- Include the song lyrics in the body of the e-mail. (If your song doesn't have lyrics...consider yourself eliminated. Instrumentals can be pretty, but SpinTunes does require lyrics.)
- Include information on anyone that needs credited if you collabed with someone.
- File sharing options if you need them: YouSendIt, Sound Cloud, Drop Box, RapidShare, ZShare & MediaFire. Please send an e-mail as I already stated, but with the download link if you need one of these services. Please follow directions so your file doesn't wind up in my spam or trash folder accidentally.
- If you have a BandCamp account, you can just send me a link to your song on BandCamp if you include all the info I mentioned above. Make sure you have it set as a free download, and have it set so that I don't have to put in an e-mail to download it if you pick this option. THIS IS THE BEST FILE SHARING OPTION!

Hosting:
Each round I'll be uploading the songs onto BandCamp as an album. The songs will be set for free download only. BandCamp will make it easy to download songs, you can share 1 song individually or the album as a whole.
If you want to be entered into the contest, your song must be on the album & made available to everyone for free. Otherwise you are DQed from the contest.

Prize:
I didn't plan on there being a prize. No trophy. No cash. I’ll be happy to mail you a t-shirt that says you’re the new champion, but the real prize is knowing you won & the music itself. If you need gifts & thousands of fans to motivate you to write songs in this competiton...it ain't for you.

The winner will be allowed to be a judge in the next competition, unless they wish to compete.

Listening Party:Tom Giarrosso will be hosting the listening party for each round (he will also help with uploading). Hopefully much like Song Fu we can all get together in one virtual place while the songs are played for the very first time for people. Usually this took place shortly after the submission deadline, and the songs were posted onto the site after the listening party.

Meet The Judges:
Here's a list of the people that will be making the challenges, reviewing your work & of course voting on the songs:
1. Matt & Donna Schubbe - The current champions of SpinTunes.
2. Dave Leigh -
3. Peter Coffin -
4. Denise Hudson -
5. Heather Miller -
* I am the alternate judge. If a judge is unable to do his/her job, I'll step in and take over. If the judge has to withdraw from the contest totally, I'll fill in until I can find a replacement. If I happen to have a guest judge lined up already, there will be no need for me to step in as alternate. (Buck stops with me, but then I blame Heather.)
* There could be "Guest Judges" who drop by from time to time. A guest judge has to be approved by me ahead of time. I'm not promising anything, but if I can swing something cool for you all I want to leave that open as a possibility. When a guest judge ranks & reviews a round, it does count toward the scores for the round. If a song is disqualified by the regular judges, the guest judge's rankings will be edited to stay in line with the judges decision. There will be 1 or 2 guest judges each round if I can swing it. No promises though.
* If judges want me to post a short bio or links to Twitter, YouTube or a band web site just send me the info and I will. Make it 500 characters or less like the competitors have to do though.

Judge Responsibilities:
- Reviewing entries each round. Shadow entries don't have to be reviewed, but it would be nice if you found the time. You can type up your review or you can vlog it on YouTube. If you decide to Vlog your review on YouTube, it needs to be kept private until after I post the reviews on the blog.
- Making the challenges via a super secret website I set up.
- After the songs get posted each round the judges will be allowed to post their thoughts on who failed to met the challenge. (in the super secret location) 48 hours after the songs get posted we need to have a decision on what songs did or didn't meet the challenge. If you don't speak up in that window of time you'll have to live with a decision I make on my own.

Any judge who does not go along with a decision about a DQ will not have their rankings count for that particular round. However I will post any reviews they provide. Hopefully this does not happen again.

Twitter:
For those of you that don't want to check this blog every day, but also use Twitter, I'll be posting updates on Twitter as well. @SpinTunes was created just for this contest. You can unfollow it right after the contest if you want, my ego can take it. There is a Twitter list that includes all the judges & competitors (SpinTunes List). Well, at least all the ones I know that are on Twitter.

Song Sharing:
You are allowed to share your songs before the LP. In my opinion the songs will be better if you can go to another musician in this contest, share what you've got & get feedback. So if you want to share with a few friends or fellow competitors before the listening party feel free to do so.

However...

I would prefer it if you kept it low key, and not pimp it all over the net (via Twitter, YouTube, etc...) until after the LP, but that's up to you as well. It does take a little excitement away from the LP if people have already heard the songs. Common sense. Just don't try to get feedback from a judge, or from me since I'm an alternate.

Rerecording & Remixes:
In the previous contest some people sent their song in ON TIME, but then after the deadline wanted me to post an updated version onto the album (they added bells & whistles). My response to that is ok, BUT you will be judged by what you turned in before the deadline. So anyone who decides they want to make a better mix of their song, and have it replace the one they sent before...that's fine. Send me the info, and I'll switch the files out. I might not do it instantly, but it will be done. Now I'm not going to have someone send me a new mix every month because they like remixing their own stuff all the time, but I'll allow 1 update of each song down the road. These songs are something you should be proud of, and some people are bugged by not being able to add everything they want in that small window I give them...so hopefully this helps...while still being fair.

Multiple Songs:
You can enter 1 song each round until you are eliminated. There is no limit on how many shadow songs you can enter each round though. If you are still in the contest & have multiple songs you wish to enter, you just have to pick 1 song to be your official entry, while the other is listed as a shadow song.

You are not allowed to enter the contest as a part of more than 1 group. So if you enter as yourself, you will not be allowed to enter again as a part of another band.

Wrap Up:
- Dave will being helping me with uploading, posting & responding to e-mails during this contest. My work schedule will not allow me to plan out the contest so that I'm available during each key deadline that comes up. So don't be shocked if Dave responds to an e-mail you sent to the SpinTunes account.